Official studio version
Well in Candy's room there are pictures of her savior on the wall
But to get to Candy's room you got to walk the darkness of Candy's hall
Strangers from the city call my baby's number, and they bring Candy toys
But when I come knocking she smiles pretty, she knows tonight I'm gonna be Candy's boy
Well in the olden days when the Mongolian gangs rode herd out on route nine
We go riding in the rain, running south, way down through the pines
Weekends in the sun in that cheap motel down by the Dynamo
We loved each other till there was nothing left, and drove that old car as hard and fast as she would go
Well I got a cold winter wind blowing in behind me and you
But Candy's got a man who takes care of her better than I do
Well there's machines and there's fire waiting for us on the edge of town
And there's some rough boys for hire and they're waiting to blow me and Candy down
That's all right 'cause they can't touch us now and destroy
My sweet love, I will forever be Candy's boy
Mmm mmm mmm, mmm my sweet love, I will forever be Candy's boy
Alright
Once more
Hmm hmm hmm
CANDY'S BOY is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on his 2010 album The Promise. The above lyrics are for that officially released studio version of CANDY'S BOY as released in 2010.
The first verse from CANDY'S BOY was later used in CANDY'S ROOM and the last verse was later adapted in DRIVE ALL NIGHT. The line "We go riding in the rain, running south, way down through the pines" was later adapted in an early draft of CANDY'S ROOM ("We go driving south through the pines").
According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, CANDY'S BOY was cut on 03, 06, and 27 Jun 1977 at Atlantic Studios in New York City, NY, with further work undertaken on 24 Aug and 02 Sep 1977. Two studio takes of the song are in circulation: the official studio version, which was released on The Promise, and the unofficial studio version, which was released on bootlegs. In addition, video footage of Bruce Springsteen rehearsing CANDY'S BOY with the band at his residence in Holmdel, NJ in 1976 was released in 2010 on The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set. See the official rehearsal version for more details.
CANDY'S BOY seems to have been originally considered for the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album, as evidenced in several handwritten lists of candidate tracks for Springsteen's fourth studio album. These lists appear in the handwritten lyrics notebook that was reproduced in The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set (see scans below). The track also appears on a concept artwork for Springsteen fourth studio album. See the "Early Concept Artwork" section below for more details.
CANDY'S BOY also appears on other pages in the above-mentioned notebook. On a page containing a draft of the lyrics (below scan middle), the song is titled "(I Will Forever Be) Candy's Boy".
Around October 1977, Columbia Records' art department created a concept artwork for Bruce Springsteen's fourth studio album. The mock-up album sleeve art uses photographs taken by Eric Meola earlier in 1977. The Springsteen photograph, used for the front cover, was shot at Meola's studio in New York City for potential use on the album cover art. The eye-patched Clarence Clemons photo, used for the front cover, was shot for Clarence personally. At this stage, the album's proposed title was "Badlands", but Springsteen would later change it to "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" reportedly because Bill Chinnock released an album titled "Badlands" in early 1978.
The early album track list included three songs that didn't make the final track list. INDEPENDENCE DAY was eventually released on The River in 1980, DON'T LOOK BACK was eventually released on the Tracks box set in 1998, and CANDY'S BOY was eventually released on The Promise in 2010. ADAM RAISED A CAIN, SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT, FACTORY, and DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN were not on the album track list at that stage.
The Promise is a Bruce Springsteen album that was released on 16 Nov 2010 as part of The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set, and separately as a 2-CD set. The album was also issued on a limited edition 3-LP set pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
The Promise is a collection of 22 previously-unreleased songs from the Darkness On The Edge Of Town recording sessions. Depending on their level of completion back in 1977-1978, some were only remastered, some were overdubbed with 2010 vocals or music, and some were completely re-recorded in 2010. The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain.
Side 1:
Side 2:
Side 3:
Side 4:
Side 5:
Side 6:
Other versions of CANDY'S BOY were also officially released.
As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed CANDY'S BOY live.
As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's CANDY'S BOY.
List of available versions of CANDY'S BOY on this website:
CANDY'S BOY [Official studio version]
